Today, we celebrate not just another win vs a rival, but the end of their sadistic rule over our hopes and dreams. There is nothing left to fear. The New York Knicks are just better.
Remember this quote from the Final Tape when we won the regular season series against them? I say what I mean, and I mean what I say.
The New York Knicks continued their defensive dominance and it was accompanied by an overall awful offensive showing by the Celtics, who bricked layups and open 3s all game long. Let's face it, the Celtics aren't that good. All this hype about emotion and their "battle tested experience" (last time I checked, the Knicks have just as many NBA champions in jerseys (Kidd/Tyson) as the Celtics do (Pierce/KG) is nothing but hype. The Knicks beat them in all facets of the game tonight. Whether it was Shumpert or Prigs defense, Felton's penetration and dishing, Tyson finally getting up and finishing alley oops, Kmart doing what Kmart does, or Melo gettin' buckets, the Knicks took the Celtics to school. I could say a positive thing about every single Knick that checked into the game tonight. The Knicks are ONE game away from ending the Celtics, and it's a beautiful thing.
Someone griped that the Final Tape never includes mention and gratitude toward the heady play of Pablo Prigioni. Well that changes tonight. Pablo Prigioni was absolutely awesome tonight. He opened the game looking for his own shot, hitting a couple threes in the 1st quarter. He kept the offense in perfect rhythm making the right passes at the right time. But above all else, his hustle and his defense.... Guy is ALWAYS in the passing lanes, wreaking havoc, completely disrupting the Celtics, who never seemed to establish any semblance of offensive flow. I'd split the game ball 4 ways tonight, but he'd get the biggest chunk.nbafreak724 wrote:The Notorious PR.I.G.
Bulldog Felton
As an ardent defender of Ray Felton and a guy who had Felton 2012 in his sig all year, I'm extremely proud of how Felton has taken advantage of the awful defense of the Celtics guards. Jason Terry and Average Bradley can't guard him and he knows it. He penetrated often and kept the defense honest... but more importantly, he used his scoring to open up his passing game. TEN DIMES. He probably won't be as effective against the likes of Paul George, but this version of Ray could very well victimize the Heat if we can get to the ECFs.
Iman makes Pierce look like a scrub
Not once, but TWICE, Iman Shumpert literally stripped the ball from Paul Pierce and went the other way with it.. The look on Pierce's face was absolutely priceless
. There can't be anything more demoralizing than realizing that not only is your "star player" strikingly inferior to your opponent's "star player", but he's getting the ball taken right from his hand by a sophomore with a flat-top. It took a long time, but Shumpert has his defensive mojo back. With a potential Paul George matchup awaiting, nothing could be better for his confidence right now.Carmelo Anthony
Carmelo continued his trend of following rough 1st halfs with 3rd quarter flurries. I'm not going to sit here and go on one of my classic "Carmelo Kyam Anthony is the epitome of greatness, the godfather, the chosen one..." rants... But I could, because all of those things are true. Hide yo kids, hide yo wife, because Carmelo is just violating the Celtics in this series. They brought some double teams for a change tonight, but Melo did what Melo does... a bit of overdoing the iso mixed in with a bit of ball movement mixed in with a bit of "i dont care how you plan on guarding me because you can't stop the rain from falling." He's one game away from getting back out of the 1st round and ruining his critics' days again.
Mike Woodson
For all the talk on the great Doc Rivers, Woody has been successful by sticking to his guns. He believes in his 2pg lineup and it's paid off HUGE for our offensive flow. In addition to that, the 2 guard lineup has forced tons of turnovers, outweighing the disadvantage caused by size deficiencies. He's believed in Melo at the 4 and has made sure Kmart or Tyson is in the game at all times. It's all worked out wonderfully for us. And it sure is nice to see inbounds plays that work for a change.
Flagrant 2 on JR Smith
I defended Jason Terry when Lebron posterized him. Not many guys would have the cojones to actually get in the way of Lebron at full steam.... But if you're going to wack at JR Smith, you better be prepared for a bit of retribution. I didn't think the elbow was Flagrant 2 worthy, but the refs did and it got him ejected. My real concern is that this commissioner's office is going to use that play to suspend JR for a game to get the Celtics a W, extending the series. JR walking away right afterwards was a shocking display of maturity. The guy has come so far as a player and as a man.
The Boston Celtics
I hate the Boston Celtics. I hate their stupid fans. I hate their stupid "TD Garden." I hate Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett (I've always hated Garnett, actually). I hate Jeff Green's hideous face. I want their souls taken from them. I want the Knicks to sweep them on their home floor and I want camera shots of them crying. Then I want to read all the media make oodles of excuses for them, and predict them to be favorites over us again next year because Rondo is back.... So that we can repeat this process again next year and leave them crying again.
The Knicks are the Atlantic Division Champions and the 2 seed. They should be able to handle the 7 seed that came 3rd in their division... We are who we hoped we were. In the playoffs, when it matters the most, Mike Woodson has this team being all about defense again. That was reputation coming in here and it's good to see that the disciple of Bobby Knight and Larry Brown has his team locked in on the defensive end. Having Tyson coming back to health, a fiery Kenyon Martin, and a guy named Pablo doesn't hurt either.
One. More. Game.
FINISH THEM
